Against the Wind
by silvershadeus
Summary: An au-like fic centering around Watari
1. Default Chapter

I've only seen the anime, and so most of this is wild - no doubt badly flawed - speculation on my part. It's also wildly au-like, and I don't know if I'll ever finish it. It was something kicking around in my head that I desperately needed to write to get any sort of peace. Please don't hate me. ^^;;

~silvershadeus~

Disclaimer: I do not own _Yami no Matsuei_, I'm just borrowing the characters for a little bit. That's all, honest. I also do not own the song "Against the Wind" by Bob Seger, I'm just borrowing it for the purposes of this fic.

feedback, onegai!^_^

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**Against the Wind - Part 1**

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Against the wind  
We were runnin' against the wind  
We were young and strong, we were runnin'  
against the wind

~ _Against the Wind_ ~ Bob Seger

One of his ears flicking in annoyance, Watari stared down at the prone figure at his feet with his hands on his hips. 003 hovered about his head hooting worriedly to herself.  
  
While he hadn't expected Tsuzuki to take the truth about what he was calmly and rationally, neither had he expected the other man to faint at the sight of him. True, seeing someone he'd always thought of as human with a pair of furry fox ears perched on his head and a bushy tail was not an everyday thing, but...  
  
Tsuzuki had seen and done enough things in his afterlife that something like discovering that one of his friends was anything but human should not have affected him quite so badly.  
  
Amber-gold eyes sliding to look at the owl, Watari's expression softened slightly. Granted, he should have known better than to _change_ in his lab where anyone could have walked in and seen him, but really. Where did Tsuzuki go around walking into someone's workspace unannounced like that? And besides it was late. By all rights Watari should have been the only one left in the building. There should have been no problems...  
  
"You never know when to quit, do you, Tsuzuki?" He asked softly, warm affection leaking into his voice.  
  
Holding out his arm as 003 hooted insistently at him Watari stared at the unconscious form of his friend. 003 hooted again - sounding almost pleased this time - and landed on Watari's outstretched arm in a rush of wings. Cooing softly at him, she worked her way up to his shoulder where she nibbled on a lock of his hair in a gesture of affection.  
  
_Now_ what was he going to do? He had only been allowed to work in the EnmaCho Shokan Division through a special arrangement and strict orders that _no one_ was to know what he was. Not even his friends.   
  
Well, his human friends, at least. Or formerly human... or...whatever the hell it was they were now.  
  
And he had done so, for many years. It was strange enough that a fox spirit such as himself had wanted to become a Shinigami. Stranger still was the fact that he had been allowed to by Enma himself.   
  
He was always so busy in his lab working on some new invention or sex-changing potion that no one had ever bothered to wonder who or what he really was. Watari was rather proud of the eccentric front he put up, even though most of it was not faked. He truly was fascinated with human science and technology to the point where he often lost _days_ puttering around with it. And not once had anyone looked twice at him, suspecting that he was not what he appeared to be. An absent-minded scientist and inventor with an odd view of life - or the afterlife, as the case may be.  
  
Although Watari suspected that Tatsumi knew something of his true nature, but one ever knew for sure with Tatsumi. When it came to secrets Tatsumi was quite adept at hiding them - sometimes even from himself. And come to think of it, Hisoka had been giving him odd looks lately. As though he somehow sensed that Watari had never been -   
  
Sighing, he turned to look at the small owl perched on his shoulder, golden eyes troubled. She returned his gaze, cocking her head and blinking in a way that clearly told Watari that she had no better idea of what to do.  
  
Shaking his head, Watari bent to grab hold of one of Tsuzuki's arms preparatory to moving him. Whatever he was going to do now, the floor could hardly be a comfortable place to leave the violet-eyed Shinigami. And besides, Tsuzuki had been too good of a friend to leave there. If he hoped to somehow salvage the situation he might as well start off on the right foot.  
  
He had wasted his life looking for something he could never have; he would not do the same with his afterlife. He had friends now, people who honestly cared about him, and people that he genuinely cared for in return. He would not sacrifice what he had gained for something he would never have again. It had been a hard lesson to learn, but one he had committed to memory.  
  
003 took flight as he hefted Tsuzuki to his feet, coming to land on the back of Watari's computer chair and well out of the way. She watched with obvious interest as he half carried, half dragged Tsuzuki to the small couch set along the far wall of his lab. He spent more time in his lab than at his apartment, as a result of his various experiments. So it only made sense for him to keep a comfortable couch in his lab that he could sleep on while involved in his work.   
  
Laying Tsuzuki down on it, Watari took the folded up blanket on the back of the couch and covered the unconscious Shinigami with it. Stepping back, he smiled a little sadly as Tsuzuki snuggled into the warm blanket and soft cushions of the couch, fingers curling around the edge of the blanket.   
  
Sighing again, Watari walked over to his computer chair shooing 003 from the back of it as he sat down. His ears were pressed against his skull, half in worry, half in annoyance at himself. He shouldn't have allowed himself to get so confident that no one would walk in on him so late when he was in his lab. No one had ever done so before, probably out of some odd sort of respect for him.  
  
But he'd wanted to shift into his true form so badly, had felt the need to release himself from his human form like a tangible thing. While he was more than satisfied with his human appearance - which came so close to his real appearance - he longed to move about in his true form. Longed for the familiar stretch and slide of muscle and sinew beneath his honeyed skin. Longed to have the added inches to his height, the sharper senses that came with it.   
  
He longed to _run_, feeling the burn in his longer legs and muscles. Feeling the wind through his hair, tickling his ears. He longed for the freedom his true form allowed him. He longed for what he had lost and could only have again now in stolen moments. Snatches of time taken from his new life where he could regain his true form only in hiding.  
  
So he had - unwisely as it had turned out - shifted out of his human form and into his Youko form while still in his office. He had assumed that everyone else had already gone home for the night and that there would be no one to witness his transformation. He had assumed that it wouldn't hurt to revert to his true form for even a little while.  
  
And then Tsuzuki had walked in, an invitation to join him for late night drinks at a cozy little bar down on Earth to celebrate the end to another long workweek.   
  
Snorting, Watari shook his head, ears swiveling towards Tsuzuki as the older Shinigami muttered unintelligibly to himself. When the other man made no other sound, or movement, Watari shook his head in amusement.   
  
Gathering his tail in his hands, he combed his fingers through the soft fur, seeking tangles and snarls that he knew weren't there. It gave him something to do with his hands while he waited for Tsuzuki to regain consciousness. Glancing up at Tsuzuki, Watari realized that he was in for a long wait. 

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**TBC...**

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_


	2. Part 2

Hee...Watari as a Kitsune _is_ a lovely mental image, no? Thanks so much to the people who reviewed this fic so far, I appreciate it. Hopefully no one's too horribly OOC in this part. ^_^;;

~silvershadeus~

Disclaimer: I do not own _ Yami no Matsuei_, I'm just borrowing the characters for a little bit. That's all, honest. I also do not own the song "Against the Wind" by Bob Seger; I'm just borrowing it for the purposes of this fic.

feedback, onegai!^_^

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** Against the Wind - Part 2**

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Looking over at Tsuzuki, Watari idly wondered if it would be possible to convince the other man that he'd been seeing things. He could shift back to his human form and claim that Tsuzuki had imagined the entire thing. That he hadn't been eating or sleeping right and the consequences had finally caught up to him...   
  
It was possible; Tsuzuki never seemed to look after himself properly.  
  
But no. It did not do to lie to one's friends. Even if that lie might save that same friendship. Anything, be it friendship or even love, would not survive if it was supported by a foundation of lies. So maybe Tsuzuki had been meant to stumble upon the truth that night. Perhaps Watari had simply been living on borrowed time...or whatever it was he did now that he was dead.  
  
Sighing, Watari tugged at one of his ears gently. It was a nervous habit that he'd picked up as a young kit and had never been able to rid himself of.   
  
Since he had broken the agreement - though surely not intentionally - he would have to leave. He would go where other spirits such as himself were meant to go after death. Face whatever punishments were meted out to spirits such as himself who had avoided the fate that had been intended for them.  
  
003 hooted softly from her perch on his shoulder, offering what comfort she could. Blinking as something suddenly occurred to him, Watari looked at her, golden eyes wide.  
  
What would become of her, once he was gone? Who would feed her? Play with her? Talk to her? Who would lend her a shoulder to perch on when he was gone?  
  
Reaching out a trembling hand, he scratched her breast feathers gently. Who would take her flying? Who would...?  
  
Tsuzuki and the others would look after her, he was sure. They would do their best to see that she was cared for. But somehow he knew that everything would not be all right once he was gone and she was alone. She was _his_ owl. The only friend he had that knew of his Kitsune nature. The one who was at his side no matter what he did. No matter how outrageous his experiments or inventions. She had always just _been there_, a comforting weight on his shoulder.   
  
She liked the others, but she was _his_ owl, as he was her...person. Her Kitsune in disguise. _Hers._  
  
003 must have sensed some of his thoughts for she flapped her wings and hissed softly at him, clacking her beak in irritation.  
  
Pulling his hand back, Watari stared at her in surprise as she glared at him, feathers puffed out and ruffled. She never ceased to amaze him sometimes, the way she read his emotions so easily.  
  
"Watari?"  
  
Eyes widening, Watari turned to see Tsuzuki watching him, violet eyes questioning.  
  
Hastily getting to his feet, Watari fought the urge to run. To start running and never look back. The Meifu was a vast place - surely he could find some part of it so remote no one would think to look for him there? Surely he would be able to... Surely he could...  
  
But no. The others would choose to look for him, not resting until they found him - and they would bring him back. He knew that much about them. Knew how loyal they were to those they called friend. They would not let him leave without some kind of explanation. Without a reason.   
  
And even if they somehow missed him, Enma would not stand for it. He would _know_ where Watari was. He would find him, and send him to the place where he belonged. Where he was meant to be.  
  
"Watari?"  
  
Blinking as the tone of Tsuzuki's voice - more than his words - registered, Watari met the other man's eyes nervously. There had been curiosity, and worry in Tsuzuki's voice, but nothing of fear or betrayal.   
  
"Tsuzuki...you're awake."  
  
The other man blinked slowly and looked around himself as though only just realizing where he was.  
  
"Why am I...? What happened?"  
  
Watari almost smiled at the confusion in Tsuzuki's voice. He sounded like a little lost child, looking to an adult for help. Looking to someone he trusted.  
  
"You...ah...fainted." Watari answered, tail twitching. "I put you on the couch so you'd be more comfortable."  
  
Tsuzuki blinked again, still looking adorably confused. Watari did smile then, unable _not_ to at the look on Tsuzuki's face.  
  
"Oh. Um...thank you, Watari." Tsuzuki said, smiling uncertainly, obviously still confused.   
  
And Watari saw the answer to his dilemma in the way Tsuzuki smiled at him, the expression reaching his eyes. All he had to do was act naturally. It would certainly make things easier when he had to leave. There would be no strained smiles, no tense atmosphere between his friends and him. All he had to do was act as though everything was perfectly normal and no one would think it odd that he wasn't human. Perhaps they might even come to accept it.  
  
"Watari?"  
  
Looking up at the sound of his name, Watari tipped his head to the side, ears pricked forward.  
  
"Yes, Tsuzuki?"  
  
"Were...were you testing out one of your experiments again?"  
  
Ah, so like Tsuzuki.   
  
"Actually, no I wasn't." Watari said, smiling at the violet-eyed Shinigami.   
  
He could feel the Kitsune in him reacting now, enjoying the situation in a skewed sort of way. Delighting in the confusion in Tsuzuki's eyes and the way the other man tiptoed around the possible truth.  
  
Watari had lived - existed - as a human long enough to understand how they thought. He had become human in a way. Living as they did. Experiencing the things they did. And he knew that the one thing humans had never taken well was the unknown. Monsters under the bed or in the closet. Things that went bump in the night. Creatures of myth and legend - like Kitsune.  
  
Watari could see that Tsuzuki had a grasp on the reality of the situation, but he was searching for other explanations. More...believable ones. Something a little more mundane - if Watari's experiments could ever be considered mundane.  
  
It was so very, very human of him.  
  
"Oh. Watari?"  
  
Watari made an encouraging noise in his throat, golden eyes sparkling with amusement. Tsuzuki really was ever so polite.  
  
"Yes, Tsuzuki?"  
  
"Why..." Tsuzuki cleared his throat softly, "Why do you have - "  
  
"Why do I have furry ears and a tail?" Watari finished, smiling cheerfully.  
  
Tsuzuki nodded, eyes drawn to the appendages in question.   
  
"Yeah..."  
  
Watari's smile widened. At least the other Shinigami hadn't fainted again. Perhaps he really hadn't been taking care of himself lately - Watari wouldn't put it past him, it was just Tsuzuki's nature.  
  
"Well you see, there's a very reasonable explanation for that," Watari began, eyes narrowing in amusement at Tsuzuki's almost inaudible sigh of relief, "I'm Kitsune."  
  
While Tsuzuki's reaction to his revelation may not have been exactly what Watari had hoped for, it was better than he would have thought.  
  
"You're what?" Tsuzuki blurted, sitting up and looking at Watari as though seeing him for the first time.   
  
Watari held still as Tsuzuki took in the furred, delicately shaped ears. The longer lines of Watari's body...and the tail. Always with the tail. As though ears like his were a common everyday feature. . For some reason, people were always most fascinated with his tail. He supposed that it was due to the fact that humans were just not _meant_ to have tails that made his so interesting. Certainly those who had seen him in his true form while he had been alive had thought so.  
  
His tail wasn't so extraordinary by itself. Roughly the length of his arm it was full and thick, it gleamed golden under the overhead lights of his lab.   
  
Even before he realized what he was doing Tsuzuki reached out to touch it, startled as Watari deftly flicked it out of his reach. When he looked up he saw the other man watching him through narrowed eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line.  
  
Violet eyes widening as he recognized his mistake, Tsuzuki drew his hand back, looking suitably contrite.  
  
"I'm sorry, Watari."   
  
Watari snorted, his expression softening. He really shouldn't have taken Tsuzuki's reaction the way he had. He may have been a powerful Shinigami, but he was still very much human. And still very much like a kid at heart. He'd meant no harm; Watari knew that.   
  
"It's all right, Tsuzuki. It's just...I'm a little sensitive about my tail. It's...sort of a personal thing, to Kitsune."   
  
Tsuzuki's eyes widened.  
  
"You're Kitsune? Since when?"  
  
Watari stared at his friend, at a loss for what to say. Hadn't Tsuzuki heard him earlier? Shaking his head, Watari felt the coil of dread in his stomach loosen a little. Tsuzuki did seem to be taking the truth about him rather well, all things considered. Perhaps the others would too...  
  
"Since always, Tsuzuki. I was never human."  
  
There. The truth at last. The thing that had the power to destroy or strengthen. The thing that could quite possibly -   
  
"Tsuzuki, what are you doing?"  
  
The other Shinigami was leaning towards him and staring intently at something on Watari's head, mumbling to himself under his breath.   
  
Startled, Tsuzuki lost his balance and toppled forwards off the couch. He would have hit the floor in an ungainly sprawl of limbs and blanket if Watari had not caught him at the last second, sparing him that humiliation.  
  
Hooting irritably, 003 took flight, seeking shelter at the top of the cabinet where Watari stored his scientific equipment while not in use. She hooted at them once more to let them know her opinion of them, and turned he back on them effectively ignoring them for the duration.  
  
"Ehhh...sorry again, Watari. It's just so...so...strange, I guess." Tsuzuki muttered while Watari helped him back into a sitting position on the couch. "I never knew..."  
  
After ascertaining that Tsuzuki was not likely to fall off the couch again, Watari retreated to the other side of his lab, well away form Tsuzuki and his prying eyes. Pacing the short distance from the back wall to the edge of his worktable, Watari avoided looking at the other Shinigami. He needed time to think. Time to process what had just happened. He needed to pick apart what Tsuzuki had just said, and why it had bothered him so much.  
  
There had been something very much like accusation in Tsuzuki's voice just then. As though he felt slighted that Watari - his friend - had not felt that he could trust him with such an important secret. That Watari had kept something like that from him all the time they had known each other. And worse, there was something of resignation in Tsuzuki's voice. As though he felt that he could not blame Watari for not trusting him enough to share his secret with him. As thought Watari had had every right to -  
  
"Stop that." Watari growled, pausing in his endless pacing to glare at Tsuzuki. "Stop that right now, Tsuzuki. Don't you _dare_ feel sorry for yourself. Do you hear me? Don't you dare. There were reasons behind why I didn't - why I _couldn't_ - tell you."  
  
Tsuzuki's head snapped up at the sharp tone in Watari's voice - something that he couldn't remember having ever heard from the other man before. The stern expression on Watari's face seemed strangely out of place - alien in a way that Tsuzuki was at a loss to explain even to himself.  
  
Seeing that his words had had little impact on his friend, Watari crossed the room and knelt before Tsuzuki, looking up into his face. His ears twitched in agitation as he searched Tsuzuki's eyes for some kind of understanding. For some glimmer of comprehension.  
  
"Tsuzuki..." Watari trailed off, cursing himself for his poor choice of words earlier. For his forgetfulness.  
  
Tsuzuki seemed almost determined to believe the worst about himself. Determined to believe that he didn't deserve what happiness he had found in his afterlife. Determined to believe that those he considered his friends merely tolerated him because they had to. That if they knew the truth about him they would want nothing to do with him - and rightfully so - in his mind. He wasn't so different from Watari then, in that regard.  
  
Reaching up, Watari caught Tsuzuki's face in his hands, smiling gently.  
  
"Idiot. Tsuzuki, you idiot. I didn't want to hide the truth from you or the others, but I had to. Beings like me - Kitsune and other spirits - aren't allowed in Meifu. We aren't allowed to be Shinigami. We have our own afterlife to go to. We aren't human, and were never meant to exist as humans. In life or death."  
  
Tsuzuki blinked, eyes coming back into focus.  
  
"I was only allowed to be here through a special agreement with Enma. And I was to keep my true nature a secret from the others. _That_ was why I couldn't tell you, Tsuzuki. Not because I didn't trust you. Because I do trust you, Tsuzuki. I do."   
  
Of its own volition one of Tsuzuki's hand reached out to Watari, hesitating just above one furred ear. He looked at Watari, asking silent permission, which Watari granted him with a smile.  
  
Watari's ear twitched as Tsuzuki touched it, his fingers tickling the inner fur that lined his ear. Watching his friend closely as he stroked the furred ear, Watari smiled to himself. The darkness was gone from Tsuzuki's eyes now, replaced with an almost childlike wonder.  
  
It was true that he had seen many things in his afterlife, but most of those things had been trying to kill him at some point in time or other. Few had ever given him the opportunity to simply touch and feel. To marvel at something beyond normal human understanding or belief.   
  
Leaning into the touch as Tsuzuki's fingers brushed over an itchy spot, Watari blinked as the other man snatched his hand back as though it had been burned. He looked at Watari in shock, violet eyes wide.  
  
Watari was about to ask what the problem was when Tsuzuki spoke, his voice a broken whisper.  
  
"But...but if I know...what happens now, Watari? What's going to happen to you?"  
  
Watari shrugged, trying not to let his own fear and concern show in his eyes. There was no one to blame but himself for his carelessness. If it hadn't been Tsuzuki who'd seen him, then it would have been one of the others. Tatsumi, perhaps. Or maybe Hisoka. It didn't matter in the end though, as the consequences were still the same.  
  
"Actually...I don't know, Tsuzuki. I expect that I'll have to leave. Probably to wherever it is Kitsune go when they die." Watari answered, injecting an only slightly forced note of cheer into his voice.   
  
He knew Tsuzuki felt bad enough for what he had inadvertently done; there was no need to add to his guilt any more than he had to.   
  
"It'll be interesting, I'm sure. I've been told stories, of course, but no one really knows what it's like. It'll be wonderful, for a scientist like myself."  
  
Tsuzuki just looked at him, eyes full of sorrow, regret and self-loathing.  
  
Snorting, Watari released Tsuzuki's face and stood, backing away a step. Looking down at the other Shinigami, Watari sighed in exasperation.  
  
"Tsuzuki...why don't we go get that drink you wanted? I think you need it more than I do, and maybe I can convince you that what happened really isn't your fault. It was bound to happen sooner or later."  
  
Tsuzuki didn't look like he was willing to believe Watari, but he also didn't refuse his offer.

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**TBC...**

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	3. Part 3

Hee...another part. (Sorry that it's so hideously short..._) Oddly enough, _Yu Yu Hakusho_ does play a part for the inspiration of this fic (Mmmm...Youko Kurama...*_*). The rest is from my obsession with mythology - oh, and _Yami no Matsuei_ in general, of course. ^_^

~silvershadeus~

Disclaimer: I do not own _Yami no Matsuei_, I'm just borrowing the characters for a little bit. That's all, honest. I also do not own the song "Against the Wind" by Bob Seger; I'm just borrowing it for the purposes of this fic.

feedback, onegai!^_^

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**Against the Wind - Part 3**

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Looking over his shoulder at Tsuzuki, Watari stifled a sigh. The other Shinigami was shuffling along with a lost look on his face. Perhaps it was just beginning to dawn on him that Watari - his partner in crime - was going to have to _leave_. That he would most likely never see him again. Never be subjected to his bizarre experiments again. Never share in his schemes again.  
  
And he apparently blamed himself for it.  
  
Amber-gold eyes narrowing in irritation, Watari raised his hand and concentrated. A moment later a small ball of light formed in the palm of his hand. Pale gold in color, it felt both warm and cool to the touch. The light it cast was soft and soothing to the eye, shifting from white to gold with each beat of his heart.  
  
Fox magic.  
  
Shivering a little as the night wind cut through the thick fabric of his coat, Watari did not lose his focus. It was more difficult for him to use his Kitsune powers here in the Meifu, but it was doubly so while in his human form, as he was now. Too much of his powers were taken form the land around him. His human form was not as attuned to the energy around it, and here in the Meifu the energy he had access to was somehow...off.   
  
Maintaining his Youko form in the Meifu took a certain degree of concentration that he was not always capable of sustaining. In order to do so he needed to keep a mental grip on the energy he tapped into. He then had to use his abilities to 'refine' that energy to the same level of energy easily available on Earth. He'd found it easier - and no doubt wiser - to return to his human form on the way to his apartment with Tsuzuki. They would draw less attention that way from anyone who might see them...and it would set Tsuzuki a little more at ease.   
  
Turning his palm over, Watari gave the ball of light a small flick of his fingers in Tsuzuki's direction. As he'd expected, the other Shinigami snapped out of his stupor, eyeing the small glowing sphere warily.   
  
"What is that?"  
  
Watari smiled.  
  
"Don't tell me you don't know the stories, Tsuzuki. Kitsune-bi."  
  
Tsuzuki just stared at the ball of light hovering before him, a puzzled expression on his face.   
  
"Fox fire? Why?"  
  
Watari's smile widened, golden eyes narrowing slightly.  
  
Why indeed? The moon was full, the path they walked well lit. There was no need for the ball of light.   
  
"Kitsune-bi is used as a means to guide the way. You seem...lost, Tsuzuki."  
  
Ah, but what an understatement that had been. Tsuzuki had been lost for a long time it seemed. Wandering in a daze fueled by self-loathing and guilt buried beneath a cheerful exterior.   
  
How long ago had it been when he'd made that deal with Enma? The one that allowed him to stay in the Meifu as a Shinigami? For a brief moment he regretted the promises he had made. The oaths he had bound himself to.   
  
A moment's weakness paid for with an eternity of servitude. In life and death, and whatever lay beyond that.  
  
The purely Kitsune side of him bristled at the thought. At the memory of that moment in the clearing. The young woman facing him. Pleading for his aid with her eyes to grant her her request. Holding out his kitsune ball in exchange for a favor.   
  
Bound not once, but twice by his word of honor.   
  
Once to _her_, and again to Enma.  
  
Had he not been reckless that night, he would never have agreed to the bargain. He would never have had to deal with that human. He would never have gained his appreciation for 'humanity'. He would never have met those he now called friend.  
  
And truly, his freedom had not been taken from him. Merely altered in a way he had never thought it could be. He was still himself, still the same as he had ever been. Still a trickster, still Kitsune. Only now...there was a difference. Now he understood why the humans had their rules. Their regulations. Now he understood why they felt they needed them.   
  
"I...I don't know what you're talking about, Watari."   
  
Looking up, Watari wasn't surprised that Tsuzuki was avoiding his eyes. He could be amazingly stubborn that way. Refusing to admit to his own troubles while trying to help others with theirs. It might even have been admirable. If it wasn't for the fact that it was causing him more harm than good.   
  
"Tsuzuki...what do you know about Kitsune?"  
  
Trying to pry the problem out of Tsuzuki would never have worked. When he wanted to he could close himself off completely and utterly. It was a frightening thing to see, and Watari had no wish to witness that at the moment. For one thing, he didn't know how much time he had left, and for another...there was no need for it.   
  
With Tsuzuki, subtlety was often the best way to work at the things that hurt him. Work your way past his defenses until you were too close for him to raise his walls, and your work was half done. The rest relied on your ability to understand a little of the way his mind worked. The way he turned his guilt in on himself.  
  
"Kitsune?"  
  
There. A genuine spark of curiosity.  
  
"Yes, Kitsune. What do you know about them?"  
  
Tsuzuki shrugged, scuffing his toe along the edge of the path where he stood. Watari watched through narrowed eyes, head tipped to the side.  
  
"Not that much, I suppose. Just what the legends say."  
  
Watari bit back a sigh. It seemed that Tsuzuki was being deliberately uncooperative. There were countless legends of Kitsune, and each one told of a different ability. And as Watari had reason to know, stories always grew in the telling. For all he knew Tsuzuki might think him capable of reading his mind or controlling the weather. There was no knowing which stories Tsuzuki had heard or which ones he believed to be true.  
  
"Would you like to know more?"  
  
If this was to be his last night in the Meifu, Watari wanted to fulfill the promise he had made long ago. It was the reason he had become a Shinigami in the first place, the only thing that tied him to an existence that had never been meant for his kind.  
  
Tsuzuki finally looked at him, looking confused and wary and uncertain.   
  
"Why?"  
  
Watari smiled again, turning down the path that led to his apartment building. Tsuzuki followed aft a moment, the ball of light floating ahead of him like an obedient pet.  
  
"I have a promise to keep, Tsuzuki. And...you need to understand."

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**To Be Continued...**

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A/N: Information concerning Kitsune-bi (fox fire) and the Kitsune ball was found on this web site  
(http://www.comnet.ca/~foxtrot/kitsune/kitsune1.htm) on Kitsune Lore.


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